Gladiator
by fandomgirlforeva
Summary: Lance is the Second Crowned Prince of Altea, he is one of the best marksman in any of the main kingdoms and he will earn half of Altea as soon as he turns 21. But in fear that he won't reach his 21st birthday due to threats and attempts on his life he hires a winning Gladiator from the colosseum arena to free him from fighting and to protect Lance.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own any of Voltron Legendary Defender. I don't own the places, people, or themes that have been inspired by the show. That all belongs to Dreamworks and the writers. I just like to write. I hope you enjoy.**

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The favorite pass time for the people of Altea was the Gladiator battles. After long weeks of work, people from around the empire would congregate in the colosseum and watch warriors battle each other to the death, watch the warriors get eaten by lions, or watch the warriors kill servants and criminals that have gone against the crowd. It was a vulgar sport but nobody cared, as long as they were entertained. Especially the royal family. Emperor Alfor, Empress Kalila, Princess Allura, and Prince Lance attended every Gladiator match, and took joy in the fact that their people were entertained, even by blood and gore that would cause any outside person horror and disgust.

The Gladiator match held on an especially hot day in mid-summer was no different. The colosseum was filled to capacity with eager audience members, that -even though they were overheating- were enjoying themselves immensely and were waiting in anticipation for the main event of the afternoon. Today's match was special, two undefeated Gladiators would be going head to head to compete for the number one rank in the arena. Whoever reached number one, would be given favor by the royal family, and the Gladiator's handler would be given special privileges in the palace. The last Gladiator to win the final match was given to Princess Allura as a gift of respect, and he became her bodyguard.

The match would be between the Gladiators named Olympus and Ravager, two of the most blood thirsty fighters in any of the large kingdoms. Olympus gained his name because he was like a God in the ring and couldn't be defeated by even the best opponents. Ravager, was named for his absolute viciousness. While Olympus had skill and muscle, Ravager had force, brute strength, and a brain the size of a baby's pinky fingertip. The people of Altea had long awaited this match, and the roaring from the crowd showcased that.

Emperor Alfor stood up and silenced the entire colosseum within seconds. "Greetings, my subjects! Today, I offer you one of the greatest battles you have ever seen! Two of the greatest warriors will battle to the death, in front of your eyes today in one of history's greatest Gladiator fights. I hope, you all will be entertained with the battle, between Olympus and Ravager!" As soon as the names of the Gladiators were spoken, the entire arena erupted into a deafening roar. "May the match, begin!"

The Emperor sat down next to his wife, and the arena went silent, as they waited with baited breath for the gates to open, and the warriors to step out. They didn't wait long, for the two gates opened only seconds after the arena falls to silence. When the two warriors step into the light, the cheering once again reaches impossible levels as the crowd finally is about to get what they want. Blood.

Olympus leaves his gate first, ducking underneath the rising gate to step into the sunlight and letting the audience see him. He was a large man, standing at 6'3 with large muscles covered in scars, and shining shining golden armor that only protects his face, wrists, and shoulders. He wears a red loincloth, no boots, and holds a large broadsword in his right hand and a shield in his left. A long red tassel hands off his helmet, and the crowd absolutely loves him, if the rise in volume was anything to go by. When Ravager steps out, the crowd roars louder again. He was even bigger than Olympus, probably 6'6, but he was a lot larger with muscle. While Olympus could still move around easily, Ravager lumbered around like an animal, with muscles so thick he couldn't rest his arms completely to his sides. He didn't wear any armor to hide his face, but did wear silver armor around his shoulders and on his wrists. He held a shield, but no weapon, and his tanned skin was covered in scars just like Olympus.

After the two warriors are standing on either sides of the arena, the people quiet down and start pounding their feet on the ground. Princess Allura leans over to her brother, "who do you think will win?"

Lance scans the two before answering, "if I'm to be given one of them, definitely Olympus. At least he may fit through a doorway."

Allura laughs, but their mother shushes them. "The match is about to start." She chides and the two quiet down as their father stands up once more.

"Good luck to both of the Gladiators. May the best warrior win."

The Emperor's attendant hits a mallet against the gong to start the match, and instantly both warriors charge each other. The crowd erupts as Ravager swings his shield at Olympus's head, but the smaller warrior slides underneath the large arm of his opponent and slashes his sword into his arm, spraying a large amount of blood across the dirt of the arena, himself, and Ravager and he gracefully stands up and turn to see that the strike to Ravager's arm may have drawn a lot of blood, but does not make the large even flinch in pain as he blood drips from his fingertips and to the dirt. He drops the shield and lets out an inhuman yell as he charges Olympus again. The fact that his blow did almost nothing caused a slight shock in Olympus, but he recovers quick enough to put his shield in front of him to block the heavy blows that Ravager starts to lay on him. The smaller warrior has to drop his sword to use both arms to hold the shield in front of him, and even then the blows make him skid back in the dirt. Ravager lands one lucky blow on the edge of the shield and causes Olympus's grip to falter just enough for the shield to be knocked away, and Ravager punches Olympus hard enough for him to fly across the arena and hit the dirt hard enough to send him rolling.

Olympus grunts and after feeling his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken or dislocated, he stands up again and wipes the blood from his mouth. Ravager of course didn't give up and charges his opponent, yelling the entire time like a deranged animal. Olympus bends his knees, and jumps as soon as Ravager is the perfect distance away. With the larger Gladiator's momentum, Olympus vaults over him perfectly and lands on the other side of Ravager in a graceful roll before standing up immediately and running toward his sword. Ravager skids to a halt and turns to try charging again. Olympus was faster though, because he didn't have nearly as much weight to carry as his opponent, and got to his swore with enough time to turn around and plunge the sword into Ravager's stomach. The blade goes all the way through, but Ravager keeps charging until Olympus is shoved between him and the wall of the arena. It was almost like the man wasn't even affected by the sword going straight through his body, seeing as he was only breathing heavy from running so much.

Ravager brings his uninjured hand up to Olympus's neck and wraps his thick fingers around it. He starts to squeeze tightly as he brings Olympus up off his feet and holds him up against the wall by his throat. The crowd is going crazy, thinking Ravager won the fight, and Lance and Allura were standing at the edge of their viewing box to get a better look at what was happening. Ravager smiles maliciously at Olympus, but he didn't know that positioning the other warrior against the wall gave him a perfect opportunity to kick him in the face and knock him backward so he let go of him. The crowd gasps as Ravager stumbles back, holding his face and groaning, while Olympus drops to the ground, gasping for breath.

Ravager doesn't stay down for long though, and when he's recovered from the blow he pulls the sword from his stomach, bends it in half over his leg, and throws it to the side. Olympus could tell that he was pissed, seeing as he was bleeding from his arm, nose, and stomach, he had a shoe imprint on his face, and Olympus could practically see the steam coming from his ears. As he dug his feet into the dirt like a bull getting ready to charge, Olympus looked around wildly for a way to kill the beast in front of him. When he laid his eyes on the shield, he smiled to himself as Ravager charged for what the crowd would think for the last time. They just didn't know that Olympus wasn't going to be defeated so easily, as he did a tuck and roll at the last minute to avoid Ravager's charge and make the man's head slam into the wall so hard a long crack split the limestone. Olympus glances behind him to see the mindless monster shake his head like a smacked dog before turning to him again and growling, even with the large amount of blood dripping from the large split in his forehead. Olympus slides in the dirt, grabs his shield, and whirls around to start charging at Ravager just as the other warrior lumbers forward to try and catch the faster man. But before the crowd could fully grasp what was going on, Olympus leaps into the air, whirls his body around in a 360 turn, and slices his shield down to sever Ravager's head from his shoulders.

When Olympus lands, he stands and turns to see Ravager's body falling to its knees, and then to its stomach while his head rolls several inches away before stopping in the middle of the arena. As the crowd watches in stunned silence Olympus walks over to the head, picks it up, and holds it high above his head. The crowd erupts with cheering, screaming, and clapping as Olympus slowly spins in a circle around the arena before coming to a halt so he's facing the royal box. The family was standing and cheering as well, but just not clapping as enthusiastically. The Emperor makes a motion with his hand and the colosseum falls silent again, and Olympus drops the head to the ground. "Congratulations Olympus! You and your handler are invited to the palace this afternoon to celebrate your victory, and your newfound status." The crowd cheers again and Olympus leaves the arena so the next fight could start.

"Well, it looks like you got your wish Lance. Olympus won, and you might've just found yourself a new bodyguard with benefits." Allura whispers to her brother.

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That afternoon, the royal family was seated at their long dining room in the palace, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Olympus. "Do you think he's going to be a barbarian?" Allura whispers, causing her and her brother to giggle.

"Children, please be polite." Empress Kalila chides as one of their servants enters.

"Announcing the arrival of the Gladiator Olympus and his handler, Lord Sendak."

The two walk in, and compared to everyone else in the room, the two were massive. Olympus once again wore his armor, but this time he wasn't covered in blood and his helmet wasn't dented from Ravager's fist. His chest was covered in bruises and scars, but they were all in different stages of healing. Sendak however, didn't look any less menacing than his Gladiator. He was a large man as well, maybe 6'4 or so, and he wore an eyepatch on his right eye that overlapped a nasty purple scar. He had grey hair that was styled into two thick points on top of his head and thick sideburns going down his face. He was a little less muscled than Olympus but seemed like he could take down any good sized man, even his own Gladiator. He was missing an arm, but it was replaced by a large black prosthetic with three long talons at the end that relaxed and tensed like he was going to attack them at any minute. He wore a polite smile as he greeted the family, but it seemed like his face was made to live with a perpetual scowl. He was a very menacing man and Lance and Allura both shuddered when he walked in. "Ah Sendak! I should've known you were the handler for this amazing warrior!" Alfor stands up and embraces the other man.

"Greetings Alfor, I see nothing has changed since we met last."

Alfor laughs, "well a few things have. For one, I don't think you've met my children yet." Alfor motions for his children to stand up and greet the man and they do, even if they were reluctant. "Sendak, this is my oldest daughter Allura. She'll be Queen once her 21st birthday arrives and I have no doubt she'll rule just as well as her mother and I. And this is my second born, Lance. He's a skilled marksman and has even bested his sister and I in combat. Once he comes of age I'm splitting my kingdom and giving him half to rule just as well as his sister. They're my pride, and I couldn't imagine having better children. Son, daughter, this is Sendak. He's one of the best Gladiator trainers I've ever met and we were friends long before I took the throne. His brother, Zarkon, is our best weapons dealer. How is the man anyway? Ever since he started dealing to the other kingdoms I've barely seen him."

"Zarkon has been doing well. Couldn't be happier. In fact, I don't know if you know this, but his wife Honvera just became the Queen of Daibzaal so Zarkon is officially the King. He of course still is a highly skilled blacksmith, but I've taken over most of his operations. I believe since Olympus was such a success I'm going to sell all of my Gladiators and continue his work."

Alfor's eyes are wide as Sendak speaks, and Allura and Lance glance at each other nervously. Zarkon, in the times that they had met him, was a nice enough man but they had heard enough stories about him to know that he is ruthless. From the scars that the two royals had seen on many of Sendak's Gladiators, even in their first fights, they guessed Sendak shared the exact same merciless streak. So now that he was a King, they had no doubt that trouble would be on the horizon. "Well that was certainly fast, but I'm sorry to hear about your retirement from the ring. I'm sure the Gladiators won't be half as good now that you're gone."

Sendak laughs and Alfor motions for them to all sit down, Kalila and his children to his left, and Sendak to his right while Olympus stood in the corner like some kind of guard. "Maybe not, but maybe my Gladiators will still be entertaining for you and your subjects."

"I'm sure they will, and speaking of, wherever did you find Olympus? He's the most brutal Gladiator I've seen in the ring ever since Champion competed."

At the mention of the old Gladiator, Allura stiffens, and Lance sets a hand on his sister's to steady her. She had grown attached with the Gladiator and they were close friends, so any mention of his time in the ring caused her to become irritable and angry. Lance does his best to calm her down, but she doesn't let up for several hours or until the topic is completely dropped. That was mainly why she didn't enjoy the colosseum as much as she used to, she knew what the warriors had to go through with training and their battles. She hated it.

"Ah well, I found Olympus as a little street rat stealing my scraps at night. I trained him and that street life did wonders for his survival instinct. He didn't obey at first, but now he's the best that I've ever had. Brings in a ton of money too, I'm almost sad to let him go to another handler."

Lance glances to the silent Gladiator in the corner, and a feeling of dread passed over him. The man had had to survive on the street for years before being taken in my a Gladiator trainer. He thought he would be saved, but he got even more hell. "What if I was to buy him from you?" Lance offers.

Everyone at the table looks over at Lance. "I beg your pardon?" Sendak asks, clearly surprised at the offer.

Lance straightens and straightens his face so it's indifferent. "If he's as good as you say, then I'd like to buy him from you as my bodyguard. I've been in the market for a good protector, and since my sister's is so good I want to see if he's any better."

Alfor considers this before turning to Sendak. "What do you think Sendak? He may not fight anymore, but he'd be away from other trainers and they wouldn't be making any money off of your man."

Sendak strokes his chin for a moment before nodding. "Alright, since my Champion is already here, I might as well give you another one of my prized Gladiators. I'll sell him to your kid, but he's pretty expensive."

Alfor smiles, "I'm sure we can handle the cost of him just fine. Why don't we go into my study to discuss the details before dinner so we can get this sorted before we eat."

The two men stand and leave the dining room and Kalila looks down to her son. "Good job Lance." She compliments as she stands as well, "I might as well tell the cook to delay dinner for a while."

Once she leaves Allura throws herself at her brother and hugs him tightly. "Oh thank you Lance! I'm so glad that you got him out of there!"

Lance chuckles and hugs her back before she jumps up and leaves the room, probably to talk with Shiro. Lance sighs and stands up as well, but his eyes catch on Olympus, who didn't leave with Sendak and Alfor. "Well, it seems that we're going to be spending a lot of time together Olympus." Lance informs him as he approaches. "So do I get to see your face? Or know your real name? Because that might help a little."

"Why does that matter? You own me now." His deep voice replies from underneath the helmet. "Master never cared, why should you?"

Lance furrows his eyebrows together. "Master? Is that what Sendak made you call him?"

Olympus looks away from Lance. "That's what I've been required to call anyone that owns me."

Lance scoffs and rolls his eyes. "I hate that word. Listen, _Olympus_ , I don't _own_ you. I may be paying to get you out of that situation, and the whole populus may think I own you. But you're not an object. You're a human, I don't own you. In fact, once this deal goes through, I'm going to give you free reign of wherever you want to go. If you want to get a job in the village, go ahead. If you want to explore the countryside, go ahead. I'm not in charge of you, and I won't pretend to be. So will you at least allow me to see the face behind the helmet and know the name behind the legend?"

Olympus moves his head so Lance guessed that he was looking directly at him, and he lifts his arms to remove his helmet. As he slide the metal off, long black hair spills from underneath and once it's fully removed Olympus shakes his head to let it completely out. He holds the helmet at his side and Lance can't help but gawk. Olympus was gorgeous underneath his helmet. He had dark violet eyes that stared down at Lance with an intensity of a thundercloud. He had a dark purple scar on the right side of his face, starting at the top of his cheekbone and going all the way down to underneath his armor on his right shoulder. His jet black hair hung in his face, and more than halfway down his back in thick waves. He jawline and cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut steel and Lance seriously hoped he wasn't drooling. "Well, I've seen your face. Do I earn your name as well?" Lance asks, hoping his voice was stronger than his knees.

"My name is Keith."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, Gladiator fans! I finally finished this short update to give a little more insight into Lance and Keith's relationship. We also get to see into Keith's extremely unhappy and traumatic childhood. This story will contain mentions of rape, child abuse, and a lot of graphic fighting and sex so I will put a warning on each chapter from now on when those scenes will take place.**

 **I'm sorry this update took so long things have been super stressful and I haven't had the urge or desire to write in a really long time. This quarantine has improved my mental health immensely and I'm finally getting back to what I enjoy.**

 **Anyway, none of y'all want to hear about him. So please enjoy the newest chapter of Gladiator!:)**

 **I also own nothing and all rights for these characters go to the writers and animators.**

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Having Keith in the palace was definitely strange. He took the guard duties a lot more seriously than Lance or anyone else was really expecting. He followed Lance everywhere, and at the slightest noise, he had his hand on his weapon ready to attack. The only people he seemed to trust were Lance himself, Allura, and Allura's personal guard Shiro. The prince didn't know why he didn't trust the Emperor or Empress, but he just shrugged it off as mistrust of authority after he was treated so badly.

Overall, it wasn't bad having him around. While he was the stiff stoic guard in public, Lance quickly found out that he was almost like a child. He was curious about everything since he hadn't been outside without the threat of someone trying to arrest him or having to follow strict rules from his "master". When Lance took him around the secluded grounds of the palace, he would get distracted by a simple butterfly and follow it until Lance caught up with him. Animals seemed to love him, especially a large canine creature that lived near the forest. Keith never gave him a name, but Lance just called him Kosmo because of his long black coat. "How would you feel about going to the village today?" Lance asks as they're lying side by side in a glen outside the palace.

Keith glances at him as he pets Kosmo's tangled fur. "I don't know, I stand out pretty easily in a crowd and I think I make people uncomfortable."

Lance scoffs, "well yeah, have you seen yourself? You're ginormous!"

The warrior turns his head away, "I know. I don't really know how I ended up like this. I assume Sendak trained me specifically in the hope that I would turn up like this, but I've seen the other gladiators. Almost none of them are as tall as me, they're all around 5 feet at the least. He always took a special interest in me, always saying how 'special' I was and other shit, I never believed it but it made him happy when I didn't decline the compliment."

Lance furrows his eyebrows in concern, that sort of story, coupled with Keith's discomfort while telling that story, didn't sit well with Lance at all. "Did…did Sendak do anything special with you? Like…something he didn't do with any other gladiator?"

Keith looks over at him, but Lance could tell he wasn't really looking at him. His violet eyes, usually bright with curiosity, were dull and lifeless as he remembered what happened. "Only when I was young. When I reached 13 winters, he left me alone and just told me I shouldn't have grown up too fast, but now I can entertain others."

Lance didn't say anything, but he swore he almost threw up.

It was almost adorable how curious Keith was about everything in the market. Lance was angry because of how fast Keith had to grow up, and if he ever saw Sendak again he might very well run him through. But right now, he could only focus on Keith.

The tall man did attract a bit of attention as they walked, but people just assumed he was a bodyguard, not the feared gladiator Olympus that could decapitate a man using a _shield_. "Lance what is this?" Keith asks as they stop by a produce stand.

"It's an Arusian fruit called Daruk, it's very sweet. Would you like to try it?"

Keith nods hesitantly and Lance hands over a few coins before taking two fruits. Keith watches as Lance takes a bite and the prince looks up in confusion. "Aren't you going to try it?"

"Um…I was taught to never eat until my Master finished."

Lance looked appalled, and one of his usual companions would have laughed at him. But Keith just looked a little dejected and Lance sighed. "Keith, like I've told you a hundred times before. I don't _own_ you, you're your own person. You can eat whatever you want, as long as it's paid for, and whenever you want."

Keith's eyes are still downcast, but he nods slowly. "Ok." Is all he says before taking a bite of the delicious fruit.

His reaction is comical, and Lance lets out a laugh as his eyes light up and the juice drips down his chin. "This is really good!" He exclaims before digging back into the large fruit.

He even lets out a _groan_ , and Lance's eyes whip around wildly before he leads Keith behind a stall. He wanted to save the guy any embarrassment, at least that's what he told himself. He actually didn't want other people to hear the sounds coming out of Keith's throat as he devoured the fruit.

Keith's attractiveness wasn't lost on Lance, in fact several times he found himself thinking of the gladiator in not-so-innocent ways, but he was never going to act on it. There were several hundred reasons why it was a bad idea to even acknowledge how attractive the other man was because he couldn't touch him in the first place. He was going to marry a princess and that was that. Case closed, the door shut, goodbye, no objections. But hearing him eat that fruit made Lance want to object. He was so screwed.

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 **And that concludes the second chapter of Gladiator I hope you all enjoyed it! This chapter was extremely short because I wanted to get a chapter up and this was the best I could come up with. Sorry I'll try and make the next chapter longer and with other people's perspectives other than Lance. So if you enjoyed this chapter or this story so far please feel free to like it, add a comment, or even request a fic if you like what I write. So with all of that I will see you all later:)**


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